I got a small case of the blues. Some of you already know, but last week when I went into the education center here on base to start the process for my tuition assistance, I ran into a rather large problem. It seems that the decision was made recently, and I'm not sure if it's just for this base or if it's AF wide, that the only means for receiving tuition assistance is through a Visa payment. And just my luck, University of Illinois at Springfield (along with every other state university in Illinois) does not accept Visa at all, only checks, e-checks and wire transfers. So, I'm screwed. At least at this point. The education services officer said she would talk to the command; and my supervisor and peers suggested I bring it to the First Sergeant as well, which I did via email, so we will see what happens, but I really don't feel good about it. I haven't heard anything back from either one of them yet. I'm going to do some follow up tomorrow morning. Fortunately, if you want to see it that way, I have the financial resources to pay the tuition myself. It just pisses me off that I may have to if I want to be in that program, because I was planning to put my savings towards a house or condo when I get out of the service. Besides, I shouldn't HAVE to pay the tuition myself anyway, since it's supposed to be a benefit of active duty service, and it was the main reason I joined in the first place. At no time in all the visits I made to the education center while searching for a school with the program I wanted was I advised about this stipulation. Oh well--I guess it figures.
